


I Don’t Dance

by infernalstars



Category: All For The Game
Genre: Andrew Minyard Loves Neil Josten, Fluff, M/M, Musical References, Soft Andrew Minyard, Soft Neil Josten, Soft Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Song: I Don't Dance (High School Musical 2)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:46:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24778612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infernalstars/pseuds/infernalstars
Summary: God, it was the world's shittiest idea. But he pressed his fingers down onto the keys and played. It felt like he’d never stopped.And then he sang.Neil wasn’t sure but he thought he might be crying.He’d promised himself he’d never play again.Yet, he’d made an exception for Andrew.- OR -in which andrew is theater gay and neil josten cannot dance[inspired by i don’t dance from hsm2]
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 4
Kudos: 103





	I Don’t Dance

**Author's Note:**

> so minor trigger warnings for abuse, implications of rape !
> 
> enjoy the fluff

Neil sat in the prop room, a bag of cheetos from the vending machine next to him. He munched on them while he did his math homework. He’d turned a set table into his own desk. He’d been staying in his school's prop room since tenth grade when he ran away to the school district. It was a quiet sleepy town and Neil was so close to graduating. 

The school was big enough that the school didn’t check the address he gave them. They didn’t question why they’d never met his parents, especially during registration. They didn’t even notice he’d been sleeping on the couch in the prop room.

He knew it was risky to stay here as the spring musical started rehearsing but he liked listening to everyone singing and running lines. Besides, it was far too early for them to need any props. He’d have to hide out in the library once they started hunting in the prop room.

Except, one of the nosy theater kids opened up the prop room, startling Neil. He looked up at the blonde kid who stood in the doorway confused.

“Who the hell are you?”

Neil stared right back at him, heart pounding. Holy shit. 

“Well? Are you going to answer?” he asked, putting a hand on his hip.

Neil stared at him. He was dangerously attractive. 

He had blond hair, swept to one side and a few piercings in his ears and a hoop in his nose. He wore a white t-shirt, a black cardigan and black ripped jeans. 

Neil felt under dressed in his oversized t-shirt and sweatpants. 

“I’m Neil,” he managed. 

“Andrew,” the blonde introduced himself. “Are you with the stage crew? Hiding from Mr. Wymack?” 

“Oh...no,” Neil admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

“Then what are you doing hiding in the prop room?” 

“Math homework,” Neil confessed. It wasn’t a lie. 

“Math’s boring. Do you want to come watch?” Andrew gestured over his shoulder, as he grabbed a chair that was next to the door. “Kevin Day’s giving his monologue right now, but after we’re singing which I’m sure will be a train wreck.”

Kevin Day was a senior as well. Top of the class and annoyingly passionate about theater. His dad was in charge of all the plays and musicals, but everyone knew he got the lead because of pure talent. He was Juilliard bound and he let everybody know it. Neil hated it. Hated theater.

“I don’t really like musicals,” Neil said. “Singing, dancing...Not really my thing.”

“Mhm,” Andrew said. “We’ll be out here if you want to watch.”

And then he left. Just like that, without a word to an adult about him hiding in there. After he finally calmed himself down, Neil stepped out to the backstage area. He stayed in the shadows, but watched Andrew as he started singing, looking at the script in his hand.

God, he had the voice of an angel. 

His voice filled the auditorium as he belted out, pure raw emotion carved into his singing. When he was finished, the whole world felt like it had gone quiet. After a moment, the other cast members clapped and cheered for him.

Andrew looked around in a daze, as if he had just come back from a whole other place. Neil wondered, perhaps, if he had gone somewhere else while he sang. Neil didn’t like theater, wanted nothing to do with it, but he wanted to know more about Andrew. 

-

It was the very next day that Neil regretted eating his lunch in the cafeteria. His school gave everyone free meals, so Neil never went hungry. He never ate much and usually ate in his math teachers class room. Not that he liked the teacher, he just liked math.

But today he decided to stay in the cafeteria and he seriously hated his life choices.  
“Neil?” Andrew’s voice called out from a few tables over.

Neil’s head snapped up from the textbook he’d been reading. It was a Spanish book. After high school his plan was to ditch to Mexico, but he was yet to be able to speak the language. He’d been taking classes here, but it wasn’t enough. The lessons were too slow. 

Neil closed the book and went over when Andrew waved for him to join his table. He set his food and textbook down, looking at the guests around the table. 

First was Andrew’s carbon copy, his twin Aaron. Next to him was Kevin Day, and then a girl Neil didn’t recognize. Well...maybe. She looked familiar, but he didn’t know her name.

Andrew didn’t say anything, or even acknowledge that Neil was now eating with them, he and Kevin carried on discussing the musical. Aaron was texting away on his phone, not paying any attention to the others.

The mystery girl leaned forward. “I’m Renee,” she introduced herself. 

Neil nearly got up and ran. He remembered her alright. 

Last summer at a homeless shelter. During the summer, Neil was technically homeless and spent a few weeks there. Renee had been with a youth group from a nearby church, volunteering there. And he couldn’t tell if she recognized him or not. The idea was just to get his high school diploma and book it. He didn’t want anyone to know anything about him and he wanted out of this dumb town.

“Neil,” he said, trying to keep his voice calm.

Renee smiled. 

Now it was Kevin’s turn to really look at him. “I’ve seen you before.”

“We go to school with him, Kev,” Aaron said without looking up. “Perhaps you saw him at school?”

Kevin frowned. “Well, yeah. I meant—are you in the musical?”

Neil shook his head no. 

“He doesn’t dance,” Andrew answered for him. “Or sing.”

“Huh.”

And that was that. And it was weird. 

Neil ate his lunch in peace and when the bell rang he grabbed his bag and started out. 

“Where’s your next class?” Andrew asked, appearing next to him. 

“B hall,” Neil said. 

“I’m in C. I’ll walk with you,” Andrew said.

Andrew didn’t think he was weird, didn’t judge him for hiding out in the prop room. He didn't think he was just a weird kid, like most students. More importantly he was actively trying to spend time with him. 

Neil knew better than to grow attached now. A few more months and he’d be gone.

But, a little bit of fun wouldn’t hurt, he thought. 

-

A little bit of fun, turned out to be Andrew finding him in the prop room on a day where there wasn’t rehearsal. Neil nearly jumped out of his skin when Andrew opened up the door. 

“Hey,” Andrew said, pulling up a seat to sit across from Neil. “Help me run lines.”

He tossed the script down onto the table, over Neil’s math homework. 

Neil just stared at him, lowering his pencil. It had been a week. A week of eating lunch with Andrew, walking to class with him. A week of listening to him rehearse. Now he wanted Neil to rehearse with him.

“I have homework,” Neil said.

“Math again? Boring!” Andrew said. “Top of page three when you’re ready.”

He nudged the script forward. Neil glared up at him. 

“The world doesn’t revolve around you,” he said, picking up the script. 

“Mmhm,” Andrew said, looking mildly bored. 

Today he’d worn a navy blue sweater with a white collared shirt underneath and light blue skinny jeans. Andrew had the audacity to look that good and Neil couldn’t even afford a half decent t-shirt. 

Neil flipped to page three and started reading. Andrew knew his lines pretty well so they just kept going, making it all the way to the fifth page before Kevin burst into the prop room. 

“Jesus, Andrew! Aaron’s damn near given himself a heart attack trying to find you, come on,” he said impatiently. 

Andrew rolled his eyes, grabbing the script from Neil. He said goodbye and left in a hurry. 

But not before Neil saw the words at the bottom of the page. Italicized and bracketed, the script read: they kiss. 

His heart skipped a beat. Andrew was running a kiss scene with him. With Neil of all people.

He set his math homework aside and decided to go for a run on the track. He wouldn’t be able to focus now. 

-

The next few weeks were pretty similar. 

Andrew walked Neil to class. Neil watched him rehearse. They ran lines together. 

But then there was one day, when there wasn’t rehearsal where Andrew stood alone center stage, singing one of the songs from the musical. It was a really sad song, Neil thought as he watched backstage. When he finished, he stood silently staring at the script before rolling it into a cylinder and looking over his shoulder in Neil’s direction. 

“Stalker,” Andrew said.

“You know I’m always here,” Neil said, stepping out onto the stage. 

“Mhm,” Andrew said, sitting down at the edge of the stage, feet dangling into the pit. “Why is that?”

“Why’s what?”

“Why are you always in the prop room, Neil? Always. You’re always here,” Andrew said quietly.

Neil hesitated, staring down at Andrew. He sat down next to him, not touching him.

“I live here,” he admitted. 

“Live here,” Andrew repeated. “In the prop room. You sleep on that couch? God, you know people have fucked on that couch?”

“Speaking from experience?” Neil asked. 

Andrew just shrugged. “So tell me, Neil. Why do you live here?”

And then Neil couldn’t stop himself, because Andrew was so easy to talk to. Too easy. He told him everything, his shitty abusive parents. Running away. Changing his name. All his future plans to escape after graduation. 

“Sounds like a shit way to live, Neil,” Andrew said after a while. Then, “And I was speaking from experience.”

“About the couch?”

Andrew nodded, fidgeting with a rip in his jeans. 

It wasn’t a good experience, Neil realized.

“You don’t have to,” Neil said. “Now, ever. It doesn’t matter, okay?”

Andrew just nodded again, not moving from his spot.

“I lied,” Neil said.

Andrew’s head snapped up, like this offended him. “About what?”

“I don’t dance, but I can actually sing.”

Andrew just stared at him. Neil hopped off the stage, going over the grand piano in the pit. He sat down on the bench and stared down at the keys. He hadn’t played since the day he ran away. 

He stared at the keys, not sure if this was a good idea. He knew it wasn’t. God, it was the world's shittiest idea. But he pressed his fingers down onto the keys and played. It felt like he’d never stopped.

And then he sang. 

Neil wasn’t sure but he thought he might be crying. 

He’d promised himself he’d never play again. 

Yet, he’d made an exception for Andrew. 

“That was really good,” Andrew said quietly when he’d finished. 

Neil wiped at his tears. “I was destined for Julliard. That was my father's goal. He craved fame for me. He just wanted more money. I didn’t want the spotlight on me. Music is a private thing.”

Andrew nodded, sitting next to him on the bench. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“I trust you,” Neil found himself saying. And it was funny, because he did. He really, really did trust him.

He didn’t know the last time he trusted anyone. 

-

There was a month until the musical. Andrew had stolen Neil from the cafeteria to run lines. This was normal for them now, sitting on the stage, reading lines back and forth. Sometimes Neil would play the piano, but usually he wouldn’t.

Andrew hadn’t told him anything about the couch incident and he didn’t need to. That was in the past. 

Neil listened instead as Andrew told him about his brother, his cousin Nicky who lived in Germany. His adoptive mother, Betsy. His brother's annoying girlfriend, Katelyn. His plans to go to school to become a music teacher in the fall. Neil hadn’t looked at his Spanish book since meeting Andrew. He thought less and less about leaving for Mexico. He’d even ignored calls from the guy who had been working on his passport. 

He didn’t want this to end. 

These moments with Andrew. Moments where only the two of them existed.

One day, Andrew handed him the script. This was the day he knew for sure that he was done running. 

It was page three. 

The kiss scene. 

“Andrew--”

“Would you like to run this scene with me or not?” Andrew asked, nothing hostile about it.

“Andrew, it’s--”

“Yes or no?” 

Neil looked down at the script. 

If he ran this scene he couldn’t leave in two months. It didn’t work like that. There would be too much backlash. 

He already knew running wasn’t smart now. 

He was too involved. Too memorable. 

“Yes,” Neil said at last.

They went back and forth with the lines, sitting next to each other now. Neil flipped to the fifth page, staring at the words that haunted him. 

They kissed. 

They kissed. 

They kissed.

“Neil. Your line,” Andrew hummed.

Neil nodded, reading his line. He looked back up at Andrew who gave his lines. 

“I don’t believe you,” Neil said, reading his line. 

Andrew lowered the script. “I’ll prove it.” 

He leaned over to kiss Neil. He stopped just before their lips met, letting Neil close the distance. 

When Neil pulled back, the script forgotten, he managed to say, “‘Drew?”

“Mhm?” he asked back, studying Neil.

“Do you think… If I stayed…” he shook his head, unsure what he was trying to say.

“I’d like it if you stayed,” he said, catching Neil’s eye.

Neil nodded. “One more thing.”

Andrew looked at him expectantly.

“May I kiss you again?”

“Yes.”

-

Three months later, Neil stood with one arm around Andrew in a white graduation gown. He held up his diploma with a big smile. Andrew managed a slight smile, but it was only because of how happy Neil was. Betsy grinned as Nicky snapped a picture of the two of them.

After their kiss, there were more kisses and afternoons spent together until they demanded to know what they were doing. 

Thus, they became boyfriends (not that they mentioned it much).

Then, he brought him around the house and Betsy refused to let him go live in the prop room. He’d called Wymack and Abby, Kevin Day’s father and step mom. They easily agreed to take him in and since Neil wasn’t yet eighteen and Betsy knew people that worked in the system, they adopted Neil fairly quickly.

Neil got on alright with Kevin, but that didn’t matter. 

Neil had a home. A safe place. He was Neil forever. He was done running. 

He was done running from his past, from every bad thing that had ever been done to him. Done running from it all. 

And in the fall he’d be attending a college just fifteen minutes from Andrew’s for a degree in Accounting. 

Andrew held out his hand to Neil as they walked back toward all of their cars. 

“So, Nicky’s taking us to Columbia for the weekend. We have a house there,” he said. “You can come if you’d like.”

“And what would we do there,” he asked, taking his hand.

“Get drunk, high. Whatever you want,” Andrew said with a shrug.

Betsy looked over her shoulder at Andrew. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” he lied with a pleasant smile. 

Betsy knew exactly what they were doing, but continued walking with Wymack and Abby. 

“I don’t drink,” Neil said. 

Andrew just shrugged and pulled him off to the side as the others piled into their respective cars. 

“Yes or no?”

Neil nodded, already leaning down. 

“Neil,” Andrew said stubbornly. 

“Yes, ‘Drew,” Neil said with a sigh.

Andrew kissed him. It was hasty. Andrew hated PDA, but Neil would be MIA for the rest of the week to go visit his university with Abby. They wouldn’t see each other until Columbia. 

“I’ll see you this weekend,” Andrew said when they separated. 

“Save a dance for me,” Neil said as he walked toward Wymack’s car.

“You don’t dance, Neil!”

Neil just smiled as he climbed into his car.


End file.
